Jean Béraud
Today's painting is full of reverie. It shows a group of mourners walking along the Boulevard de Clichy. At first glance, the figures appear elegant in their black mourning garb; the men in top hats and women in deep lace veils. But closer examination reveals that these are not well-to-do people. The man at front right wears an ill-fitting coat, trousers with absurdly high cuffs, scuffed shoes; he lights a cigar in the street in an uncouth way. The other tired mourners trudge along under a wet gray sky; it has apparently just stopped raining.
In 1876, when this canvas was shown at the Paris Salon, Béraud was only 27 and had been a painter for just three years. Béraud knew the area that he painted in Leaving Montmartre Cemetery well; his daily routine as an art student took him from Place Pigalle up the Boulevard de Clichy and alongside the cemetery. Béraud became famous for his numerous paintings depicting the life of Paris and the nightlife of Paris society. Pictures of the Champs-Élysées, cafés, Montmartre, and the banks of the Seine are precisely detailed illustrations of everyday Parisian life during the Belle Époque.
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P.S. In the mood for more contemplative masterpieces for All Saints' Day? Here's A Burial at Ornans by Gustave Courbet.